Fuqua (Duke) Class of 2016: Calling all applicants!

Based on my recollection all Round 1 interview invites were sent out on the same day so it would make sense that Round 2 is the same.

I live locally, and I'd highly recommend flying rather than driving or taking the train. RDU is so easy to fly through - it is a small airport with decent amenities, short security lines, and little traffic. If you do fly, I'd recommend renting a car - the Duke campus is pretty segregated from the rest of Durham so you'll need a car to see the area, plus you can probably rent a car for less that the roundtrip cabfare. I wouldn't recommend the train - downtown Durham isn't the best place to find yourself wandering around trying to find a taxi at odd hours of the day/night.

All interview decisions were sent out on the same day. You will receive an e-mail saying that decision is out and then you will need to login in the https://applicants.siss.duke.edu/ system to view your decision. In my case, the system was updated some time before I got the e-mail. I checked my inbox and the e-mail came at 2:46PM EST on November 20th.

Best of luck for the R2ers!

Hey guys, i sent out the GMAT official score after deadline... i am worrying if my application will be reviewed in this round. Anyone share same situation with me?

I am in the same boat. I wasn't able to get mine in before the deadline. I contacted the admissions office and this is what they said:

"It was important that your official test scores reach our office by the deadline date of your selected admissions round. Because of the high volume of applications that we receive on this deadline date it does take us time to process each application, so there may be some additional time in which we will accept incoming materials needed to complete your application. However, we cannot guarantee that this will be the case. Please note that when we are processing your application if we do not have all of your scores you will first be notified and then moved to the next round."

I also asked if sending in a PDF copy for the time being would help, but they said they needed it to come from the GMAC. I am hoping my application doesn't get pushed to the 3rd round, because Fuqua is definitely one of my top choices.

Good luck!

FROM Fuqua Current Student Blogs: Being a Woman at Fuqua is a Beautiful Thing

Recently in the media, there has been quite a buzz about being a woman in business school, thanks to the New York Times’ articleabout Harvard Business School and its policies regarding gender equity. While I can’t comment firsthand about the culture at HBS, I can give an accurate account of what I thought about when applying to business schools, my experience at Fuqua, and what I’ve been able to do while at Fuqua to increase awareness about women’s roles both in the classroom and in the professional arena. While strides can still be made toward complete gender equality in business school programs across the country, I believe that Fuqua is well on its way to ensuring that both males and females are respected and invited to every conversation. Female students at Fuqua don’t seem to think twice about raising their hand and speaking up. Coming from the military, I was used to working in an environment that was predominately male. And to be quite honest, I learned to enjoy the challenges and advantages that being a woman leader presented within the military context. Bringing a different perspective to the table and having alternative priorities than some of my male (and female) colleagues made me a valuable asset to our team, and exposed me to the thorough practices of regimented, mission-driven individuals, which was a change from some of my undergraduate college leadership roles. That being said, I did look at diversity in business school as a relatively high priority because I wanted greater exposure to women in the business world who were determined to break the proverbial glass ceiling. Some of the first conversations I had about choosing a business school were from my outreach efforts to women’s groups because I knew that women were the minority, and I wanted to hear their thoughts on equality in the classroom and after graduation. These candid conversations were extremely valuable and provided me with specific insights from the female perspective. For example, I learned about the reality of classroom dynamics and what types of networking opportunities were available exclusively for women. These conversations helped me to determine which schools to keep at the top of my list. Fuqua’s annual Weekend for Women is a special event that brings prospective students together. Women are Everywhere at Fuqua One aspect of Fuqua that differentiates it from other top-tier programs is Weekend for Women, an annual event in November for prospective female students that provides a chance to come to campus, attend class, and interview with second-year students. While I couldn’t attend when I was a prospective student because of scheduling conflicts, I was impressed by the event, and heard a lot about it. Some of my best friends at Fuqua met their future roommates through the program, and have an incredibly strong friend group based on their interactions 2 years ago! Later, as a student, I volunteered to help with the Weekend for Women, and answered prospective student’s questions face-to-face. I built relationships with them that have continued. This year’s event organizers, two second years, Arika Smith and Hannah Soll-Morris, also planned a speed career networking session, so attendees could ask second years about their summer experiences and about what they’re planning to do full-time. It was a great way to introduce the reality of post-business school choices to prospective students — definitely not something I thought enough about before applying to B-school. When I decided to apply to Fuqua, another aspect that I took into account was the fact that gender differences weren’t strikingly apparent at Fuqua. There were plenty of female student bloggers, I was contacted by a second-year female veteran, and about half of the admissions staff was female. The fact that only about 35% of my Daytime MBA class is female doesn’t detract from the overall impact and involvement that women have all around Fuqua and on the wider Duke campus, and not just through Fuqua’s Association of Women in Business (AWIB). Fuqua doesn’t need to emphasize gender-neutrality in its marketing strategy because the culture here is one of mutual respect and inclusion, no matter if you’re an international student, a female, or a minority. Current students and alumnae serve as panelists during the Weekend for Women. While at Fuqua, I haven’t been disappointed by the gender diversity on campus or in the classroom. As a first-year, I had plenty of role models to look up to and this year, I’m proud to be a club leader. About 31% of female club presidents are female this year, which is roughly proportionate with the total number of women in my class (35%). Although my section reflected the typical 35/65 percentage split across the genders, I was always able to raise my hand and participate in class, and I witnessed other women in class doing the same — the only thing affecting our air time was our own willingness to speak (or lack thereof). As a woman who’s doing a concentration in finance and going into banking post-graduation, the only instance where I have noticed the stark split between males and females is in my finance classes. In my Private Equity and Venture Capital Class last term, there were 11 women compared to 66 men. My personal theory as to why this huge difference exists is because women in my class are focusing on marketing or strategy instead of financial fields. Finance professionals are typically and traditionally male, based on what I’ve seen, and my girlfriends just aren’t interested in finance (trust me, the marketing courses at Fuqua are just as quantitatively rigorous as the finance, so I don’t buy the excuse that women aren’t as good at math as men are). The gender divide was much more equitable in my Managing of Innovations class at 26 women and 29 men, and it was quite refreshing to hear more women speak up in class and have an equal divide on our 6-person team, with 3 men and 3 women. Fuqua can’t make women become more interested in finance as a career path. So, until more women rise in professional financial ranks and encourage other women to join them, it will be up to those of us in school to tout the value of our Valuations and Investment courses and encourage our female friends to join us. It’s not unusual for finance classes or events, like this Corporate Finance Panel, to be attended by more men than women. Changing the Status Quo I think the best part about being a woman at Fuqua (and the thing that they don’t tell you about during your admissions interviews) is the fact that as a Fuqua student, you have the ability to affect change. I believe that I’ve impacted gender awareness at school through my involvement with Fuqua’s primary woman’s group, AWIB. As Leadership Co-Chair with Chantel Pizarro, we instated “MAP,” which stands for the Male Ambassador Program. Through this initiative, we aim to bring men into specific conversations about gender differences within Fuqua and within broader professional settings. Last year at AWIB’s annual conference, men were essentially shunned from the discussions and panels because the event was financially sponsored by an outside entity, and we didn’t have control over who attended. This was unfortunate and in response, Chantel and I scheduled 2 events this past fall to increase the dialogue with men (after all, what’s the point in talking about gender issues with only one gender in the room?). Our first event included 40 attendees who listened to a panel of alumni talk about gender perceptions in the work place, and best of all, the gender split of attendees was 50/50! It was the first time I had ever heard a male’s perspective about gender issues (or lack thereof), and the alumni had incredibly insightful comments, too. We also hosted a discussion with faculty and administrators about gender at Fuqua, and we are going to offer a “Sports 101” session during the next term to help inform all first-year students about current events in sports so that they can talk about sports during their internship and job interviews. Sports are often a great ice breaker and conversation starter during interviews, and a lot of recruiters are interested in hearing about Duke athletics. The Association of Women in Business organizes an annual conference that attracts prominent speakers. Another group on campus that I have been a part of is Fuqua’s Leading Women (FLW). This organization is for all female Fellows (COLE, Forté, Admissions, CASE, Career), club presidents, and female staff and faculty. My Co-Chair, Ashley Hobbs, and I organize two events each term to bring influential women together in a relaxed social setting. We want to increase the interaction among students, staff, and faculty because we have found that these casual conversations are the ones that spark ideas and new initiatives. While AWIB and MAP are focused on educating both genders about similarities and differences and how they impact each other in the workplace, FLW gives women the white space they need to relax and talk informally with likeminded women about issues that affect them at Fuqua. The differences between these groups shows the variety of support that Fuqua offers to students. Although I have never expected special treatment because of my gender, the simple fact that we’re allowed to have candid conversations about male and female relationships at Fuqua is an incredibly positive thing. Increasing awareness about subtle biases that both genders have will pay off great dividends when my classmates and I are 10 – 20 years into our careers and have the privilege of hiring, promoting, and retaining qualified candidates. These discussions have only begun thanks to female executives like Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s COO and author of Lean In, and Anne-Marie Slaughter, Princeton University Professor and author of this popular article in The Atlantic. We won’t see the results immediately. However, we, both men and women in business school, owe it to future generations to have the conversations now about gender in the workplace — which is why I’m proud to say I’m studying at an institution that encourages and actively supports all students, no matter their gender.

FROM Fuqua Current Student Blogs: Thursday: A Day in the Life of a Fuqua MBA Student

About this time last year, I remember wondering what day-to-day life would be like as an MBA student. Current students told me their days were packed with classes, speakers, and recruiting events. Still, I had trouble imagining what business school would really be like. Would assignments really be completed in teams? Would I spend the evenings studying? Would there be time to do hobbies I enjoyed, like running and cycling? In this post, I hope to give you a sense of a typical Thursday for me at Fuqua during the first term, and address some of the questions you may have about business school. Of course, remember that this is just my experience. At Fuqua, you will tailor your daily life and activities to what you are most interested in, so each person’s day looks different. As you can see, the schedule is pretty packed, but for me, being engaged in school from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep is exactly why I chose Fuqua. 7:15 AM: Wake up. 7:45 – 8:55 AM: Go to the gym at Wilson Recreation Center on campus, about a 7-minute walk from Fuqua. 9:00 – 9:30 AM: Meet with my Fuqua buddy to discuss his summer internship. He worked at a local pharmaceutical company that I’m interested in, so it was great to hear his perspective. Each admitted student is assigned a first-year Fuqua buddy upon admission to Fuqua. Fuqua buddies are a great resource for questions about Fuqua and how to prepare for the year ahead. 9:30 – 10:30 AM: Sit in Fox Center and prepare for class. 10:30 AM – 12:45 PM: Biotech and Pharma Strategy class: Since I exempted from two core classes, I was able to take an elective course during Fall Term 1. This was a case-based class focused on topics such as pricing, vaccine launch, intellectual property, and acquisitions. One of my favorite parts of this course was learning from the second-year students’ contributions. They had great insights from their summer internships that enhanced the class discussion. For me, the highlight of the course was actually the final paper — my team developed a launch strategy for a new Hepatitis C drug expected to gain FDA approval in 2014. 12:45 – 1:45 PM: Lunch in Fox Center. Fuqua has a great cafeteria with a salad bar and many made-to-order options. Most business students eat lunch in the Fox Center so it’s a great opportunity to catch up with section mates or get to know new classmates. 1:45 – 4:00 PM: Accounting core class. During Global Institute, Fall 1, and Fall 2, first years typically attend all core classes with their section (the entire Daytime class is divided into 6 sections). Attending class with your section mates is a great way to get to know a subset of Fuquans more deeply. Before each accounting class we had a team case due, which we complete with our Consequential Leadership (C-LEAD) teams. One of the best lessons my team learned throughout the term was how to be more efficient in our meetings. When we were all busy with competing recruiting, academic, and social priorities, we wanted to make the most of each meeting while still ensuring that each member of the group understood the material presented. I am lucky to have a great team, so we had plenty of laughs throughout the term and have gotten to know each other well as both colleagues and friends. 4:15 – 6:30 PM: Statistics core class. The semester flies by and there is a ton of material packed into 6 weeks, so I had to push myself to be accountable to make sure I understood the material from each class. We had an online test due before each class so that was a good way to check understanding. 6:45 – 8:00 PM: Corporate presentation. Recruiting presentations start during Fall Term 1 for most industries including consulting, finance, marketing, and general management. Companies that recruit Fuqua MBAs typically have one official on-campus presentation about the company. Because of the strong Fuqua network, most of these companies send members from their leadership team who are Fuqua alumni. During presentations, these representatives typically give an overview of the company, explain available internship opportunities, and answer students’ questions. After the presentation, there is typically a networking reception where students have a chance to get to know the company representatives and get a better sense of company culture. 8:00 – 11:00 PM: Eat dinner, do homework and catch up on emails. Homework usually involves reading cases and preparing assignments in advance of group meetings. Most assignments are team assignments during Fall 1 and Fall 2. My study team met before each assignment was due so individually, I always took a stab at completing the assignment (or at least attempting to) so I would be prepared to contribute to our team meetings.

This seemed popular over at Yale's thread.
I had also done this for Tepper here and here.


Fun random stats whilst we wait for interview invites...
What are your chances of admission based on GMAT scores?

According to businessweek, last year there were 3150 applicants, 26% of whom were accepted. They were kind enough to publish the breakdown of GMAT scores.

We can use this data to extrapolate and obtain odds of admission based on GMAT scores.



I also have data for the previous year, which is shown below:



Remember to take this whole thing with a grain of salt! It's meant to be fun and meaningless.
Good luck everyone!
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Great post! Is the second chart your posted accurate? Seems weird that a 620-640 GMAT has a higher chance than 770-800.

It is accurate - assuming the data from businessweek is accurate of course.

Also remember that there is some loss of data, as I only have data for percentage to work with. For example, for the second chart, there were 3161 applicants, but because the % adds up to 101%, my data suggest that there were 3193 applicants, which is a bit off. Perhaps the % of applicants in the 770-800 range was actually 1.6% and accepted % was 2.4%, but BW rounded both to 2%. Who knows, but there are definitely places for error.

And as always, remember that GMAT is just one of many factors adcom use to assess your candidacy.
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Interesting, farful! I used to think that bschool admission was mostly a numbers game...oh how wrong I was. And your data makes it even clearer.

To be fair, duke is a bit of an exception. Look at The Yale one he posted for comparison.

Posted from my mobile device

Does anyone know the appropriate method for submitting a letter of support from an Alum? I know that they said at an info session that it was possible, but I don't know the mechanics. Thanks!

There is a FuquaWorld (intranet) where alums and current students can recommend applicants. Once they submit the letter, you will get an email notifying that the letter has been received. Also, they don't have to follow any template/guideline, just simply write a paragraph on why you will be a good fit.

Also, you need to ask him/her to send ASAP since adcom is reviewing files right now.
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I'm a round 2 applicant and just received a big promotion this past week. Do you guys know how to approach this? Should I just call the admissions office and ask them what to do?

DEFINITELY write to the Admissions Committee as soon as possible! And hope that they haven't reviewed your application yet, since the promotion will strengthen your application

email Duke MBA Processing email address ASAP!
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R2 app here. I logged into the app checker just out of curiosity yesterday and noticed my app was 'incomplete,' despite getting confirmation it'd been submitted.

Panicked a bit, but then read the note on the file and it said that one of my transcripts wasn't "official" (i.e., it was labeled an 'unofficial transcript). My bad for not noticing the instruction on their app, but of the schools I applied, Fuqua was the only one with this stipulation.

Anyway, I talked to them and had the school in question overnight a transcript to Durham, but I just wanted to leave a note here for you all, as Fuqua never notified me of the 'incomplete' status. The admin office said they were going to send out emails today notifying incomplete applicants, but to be safe, consider logging in and checking.

The office said that if the transcript doesn't make it by roughly the end of next week (wouldn't commit to a firm deadline), I'd be pushed back to R3. AFAIK, there's a chance this could've all happened w/o me ever being notified of the problem.

Best of luck everyone!

Hi, I just got an email saying my application is not complete as well. It says I need to submit official TOEFL score.

Anyway, I studied at the school where English was the primary language of instruction. I just emailed them to ask a moment ago.

And good luck everyone!